No matter your numerical orientation, at Fathom we are open to all kinds of mathematical beliefs and points of view.

During the development of Peek in Pi, I pointed out the ongoing debate about the circle constant. The current standard relates the circle’s circumference to its diameter (which is what π stands for), though many people claim that it would be more convenient to relate the circle’s circumference to its radius (also referred to as τ). When I discovered that TAU was already a constant in the Processing ecosystem, though, the nerd in me couldn’t have been any happier.

Last week (or half tau months after the Peek in Pi release), we hosted a FiesTau party in our office to prepare for the advent of Tau Day, and to honor the enlightenment of this constancy with the same rejoicing and delight we embrace it with.

Mark and his wife Kim were kind enough to provide us with two whole pies for the event, because we simply couldn’t have a Tau party without lavish food and libations. Fortunately they didn’t use a certain pie pan they own that has an imprint of the digits of half tau…

Two pies for a full tau day

Mark seemingly confused by the math…

We took this opportunity to release the latest creation from the Fathom foundry: Peep in Tau, a new take on searching numbers within the digits of well-known mathematical constants.

We took one of the questions (or answers), “The sequence of positions of consecutive 9’s in Tau’s decimals”, as an opportunity to play around with our new app, learn more about the Feynman Point, and submit the sequence as an entry to the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. After an exhaustive review process, the sequence was accepted, though sadly it was stripped of most references to Tau as an independent constant.

The evening finished with a mandatory team photo shoot, with everyone properly attired in brand new Tau-shirts gracefully designed by James. Yes, this is how we roll.

The Fathom team

A new 3*Tau constant…?

I have to say it was a memorable evening, full of joy, fun facts, gracious tau-puns, and lovely geekiness.

Some of our partners

Founded in 2010 by Ben Fry, Fathom Information Design works with clients to understand complex data through interactive tools and software for mobile devices, the web, and large format installations. Out of its studio in Boston, Fathom partners with Fortune 500s and non-profit organizations across sectors, including health care, education, financial services, media, technology, and consumer products.